Last week, I visited the Samsung House in Soho as a guest and was able to see many of Samsung’s new home appliances. Open only for last week, the two-floor space featured a fully operational kitchen and laundry room filled with Samsung’s new products. Hilary Farr (home designer and host of HGTV’s “Love It or List It”) did a wonderful job collaborating with Samsung on the home décor.
While there, I was treated to a special, cooking session with Chef Leah Cohen (“Top Chef” alum and chef at NYC’s Lower East Side Southeast Asian restaurant Pig & Khao) that she prepared using a Samsung refrigerator and electric stove. (You can read more about that experience – along with getting a couple of the delicious recipes – over on Foodie City Mom.) You can see the photos that I took at the Samsung House below:
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The Refrigerator with Automatic Sparkling Water Dispenser was the standout appliance for me. The adjustable storage and FlexZone drawer (a small drawer between the refrigerator and freezer compartment that can be set at various temperatures) are especially helpful components. Also, even though I don’t especially like sparkling water, I know a lot of people who enjoy drinking it. That is why the refrigerators sparkling water dispenser is another plus.
Have you ever owned any Samsung appliances? If so, what did you think? Do any of the new options appeal to you?
SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure, an interactive shipwreck exhibit that is being housed at Discovery Times Square, is giving away a family pack of 4 tickets to three different Mom in the City readers. If you or your kids are interested in maritime history, then this is a special treat. The hurricane simulator that allows visitors to (safely!) experience hurricane-force winds and the Zeus arm that allows visitors to dig for and pick up treasure with a robotic arm are two of the interactive highlights. You can get a glimpse of the rest of the exhibit in this short video below:
To win one of the family 4 ticket packs, simply leave a comment below letting me know the aspect of the SHIPWRECK! Pirates & Treasure exhibit that you would like to experience the most. The three winners will be picked on June 30th at noon.
I have written in the past about life lists/life menus – things that I want to have/do/be. Since I’m still alive, I have time to work on my goal of writing a book. I’m not quite ready to do a full book yet. However, as a stepping stone, I am excited that I will be compensated for being one of the contributing authors for the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) “Be Out There” summer e-book. (Yay!) It will be fun to move “published e-book author” from the “to do” to the “somewhat done” list.
Anyway, I will be writing about “Outdoor Time in Everyday Life”. Fitting outdoor time into my family’s day to day activities is a must…especially since I have two energetic young sons! Walking to school each day is the first thing that popped into my head. Not only is it one of my favorite parts of the day to connect with the boys before our days really begin, but my sons tend to talk more freely about what is going on in their little minds and hearts while we are doing something active like walking.
The e-book will be launched later this summer. Personally, I am looking forward to learning some new and different solutions for getting outdoors with my kids this summer from it. Since my husband Reggie is a teacher and will be off from work this summer, we will have plenty of time to explore. If you have any ideas that you think I should include in my section about fitting outdoor time into your everyday life, then please share them in the “Comments” section or by sending me an email at kcoleman@mominthecity.com. (Meanwhile, you can find plenty of ideas regarding how to enjoy being outside with your family on the NWF “Be Out There” website. Enjoy!)
Recently, my family attended a Coney Island Fun Day as guests of the Alliance for Coney Island and the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium. The day began with a reception at the New York Aquarium. The breakfast, which included crafts and other family activities, was catered by Tom’s Coney Island. Members of the Alliance for Coney Island also discussed how they were committed to transforming Coney Island and shared some of the upcoming planned projects. Personally, I was inspired to learn about the area’s generational family focus. For example, there are 3rd and 4th generations of family owned businesses such as the (93 years old!) Deno’s Wonder Wheel. We also learned about the summer camp programs at the Aquarium during the breakfast.
Later, we were treated to a special performance by three sea lions at the Aquarium’s Aquatheater. Prior to the sea lions coming out, we were made aware of the impact of Hurricane Sandy on their habitat. (They were temporarily displaced for about seven months.) My family was so excited to see the sea lions. My daughter yelled from joy when they came out!
Mom in the City founder, Kimberly, videotaped Duke performing before…
After the show, we were invited to enjoy the rides at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park and Luna Park. I especially appreciated the fact that there were a variety of rides – from tame teacup rides to more adventurous roller coasters – for the entire family to enjoy. One of my family’s favorite activities of the day was the carousel ride. I grew up in Brooklyn, so I was eager to introduce my family to the ride that I had loved as a child. Fortunately, they enjoyed riding the bright horses as the music played and we shared many laughs.
Of course we couldn’t end our special day without eating Coney Island’s Nathan’s Famous hot dogs and cheese fries. We ate our lunch on the boardwalk as we overlooked the water. As my family left the park, we looked at each other and agreed that the day was definitely a family FUN day. We definitely plan on making a return family visit to Coney Island and suggest that you make it one of your top family summer destinations too!
If you haven’t caught the show yet, you can see clips on the American Baking Competition site http://www.cbs.com/shows/american-baking-competition/. Recently, I was invited to interview Marcela by my good friend Beth. Although, I wasn’t able to attend, I was able to ask a question. Read what Marcela had to say…
My question: If you were participating in the show, what would be your “signature bake” (the baking recipe that is her specialty)?
Marcela’s answer: There are a few but you gotta know that it would have to be something Mexican. The most popular recipe I’ve had in my career and the most requested is called the triple threat flan, which is half traditional chocolate cake or sponge, and half vanilla flan with caramel on the top. You make the traditional chocolate cake batter, pour it into a greased pan and take the traditional flan batter, pour it into the same pan, and it appears to marbleize and all mix but because of the different densities of the batter, when you pop it in the oven they separate. So when you pull it out of the oven and you flip it, you have beautiful white flan custard on the top and the bottom half is perfectly baked chocolate cake. In every bite you get rich creamy light delicate vanilla flan at the same time you get that wonderful sweet chocolate.
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